2012 NASCSP Conference
Doing What Works Using
Social Impact Bonds
in New York City
The City of New York
Michael R. Bloomberg
Mayor
Kristin Misner
Chief of Staff to the Deputy Mayor
For Health and Human Services
Confidential Draft- For Discussion Purposes Only
What are the Benefits?
• Investing in outcomes to improve the lives of those in need
• Government is able to preserve public resources for successful
interventions while still encouraging innovation in a time of fiscal
constraints
– Savings can be recaptured and reinvested into a permanent funding
stream for the program
– Accelerate adoption and implementation of promising programs
– Brings added discipline to measuring outcomes for government
programs because there is an upfront agreement on how to measure
success
• Nonprofit providers receive a committed funding stream not
subject to budget cuts
• Can produce financial returns for private investors, who assume
the risk while achieving a public good
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Partners
• Goldman Sachs funds the project’s delivery and operations
through a $9.6 million loan to MDRC;
• Bloomberg Philanthropies provides a $7.2 million grant to
MDRC to guarantee a portion of the investment;
• MDRC oversees the day-to-day implementation of the project
and manages the Osborne Association and Friends of Island
Academy, the two non-profit service providers that deliver the
intervention;
• The Vera Institute of Justice, an independent evaluator,
determines whether the project achieves the targeted
reductions in reincarceration;
• The Department of Correction pays MDRC based on reduced
re-admissions and the associated cost savings and MDRC then
pays the private investor;
• NYC Mayor’s Office – Office of the Deputy Mayor for Health
and Human Services
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Addressing Adolescent Incarceration in NYC
• Issue: those who enter jail as adolescents have a high likelihood of reentering the system in the years following their release
– nearly 50% of adolescents who leave Rikers return within one year
• Program: Adolescent Behavioral Learning Experience (“ABLE”)
– Provide evidence-based intervention in-jail and post release to 16-18 year olds in
DOC custody at Rikers Island
– The goal is to improve social skills, problem solving, self-control and impulse
management.
– Estimated roughly 3,000 adolescents served each year for 4 years
– The Osborne Association and Friends of Island Academy will deliver the intervention
through trained facilitators working closely with DOE and DOC staff
– Part of Mayor’s Young Men’s Initiative and the City’s commitment to improving
outcomes for young black and Latino men
• Goal: to decrease participants’ likelihood of future criminal behavior
and reincarceration
• Budget: $2.4 million annually for 4 years
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Funding & Payment: The SIB Component of ABLE
• Goldman Sachs will invest $9.6 million in the intervention, fully funding the ABLE
program at Rikers Island during its implementation. This investment will be
structured as a loan to MDRC, a leading non-profit.
• The Goldman Sachs loan to MDRC will ensure successful implementation of the
ABLE program at Rikers.
• Bloomberg Philanthropies will make a grant to MDRC in the amount of $7.2 million
over that same four-year period. This grant will be held by MDRC in a guarantee fund
to back the loan.
• DOC will be obligated to pay for these services only if the ABLE program achieves
predetermined reincarceration reduction targets that produce cost savings for the
City.
— In this model, government and taxpayers only pay for success.
•
Payments for services performed are tied to the program’s success and are made
from DOC to MDRC. MDRC, in turn, repays its lender, Goldman Sachs.
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Payment Terms for Final Evaluation
(4 Years of Investment)
Reduction in Reincarceration
Projected Long-Term City Net
Savings ($)*
City Payment to MDRC ($)
≥20.0%
$20,500,000
$11,712,000
≥16.0%
$11,700,000
$10,944,000
≥13.0%
$7,200,000
$10,368,000
≥12.5%
$6,400,000
$10,272,000
≥12.0%
$5,600,000
$10,176,000
≥11.0%
$1,700,000
$10,080,000
≥10.0% (breakeven)
$ ≥ 1,000,000
$9,600,000
≥8.5%
$ ≥ 1,000,000
$4,800,000
* Excludes city savings used to continue funding program delivery for youth at Rikers
.
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Key Challenges and How to Move Towards
Implementation
• Deciding if a SIB is right for your project
– Priority for the agency or administration
– High costs for treatment
– Interventions with evidence of success
• Evaluation
– Outcome measure
– Evaluation design
• Project Management
– Mayor’s Office Support
– Collaboration (Budget, Law, Contract Services)
– Defining roles and responsibilities
• Procurement
– Innovative/Demonstration Rule
• Sequencing
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Project
Funding
Intermediary
Evaluation
Nonprofit
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